"To me," remarked the lady, "it is almost immaterial whether the papers praise her or blame her; the disgrace lies in such a name as hers being in the newspapers at all." But Sir Arthur was not quite so hard. "She must have been very dull at Queen's Chase," he said. "I have often thought so. There was not a young face about the place but hers. That young Lennox is very handsome--just the man to take a girl's fancy." "You have used the right word, Sir Arthur," observed Adrian. "He did stir her fancy, but not her heart; he stirred her imagination. I have no doubt that in his eloquent way he made her believe that in leaving home she was doing something grand and heroic. See how quickly her better judgment came to her aid, and how quickly she repented of her error." "It is very noble of you to defend her," said Lady Vaughan, "but--but I cannot hold with you. She was the dearly loved child of my old age--all my hopes rested on her. I thought I had preserved her like a lily in the shade, and the result of all my care was an elopement and a public appearance in a court of justice. Oh, Adrian, say no more to me--say no more!" He found it was useless to defend Hyacinth; the proud and stately old lady could not brook the idea. "No lady--mind, I mean no true lady--ever makes a public sensation. The child has ruined, blighted her whole life, and no one can help her." But even Lady Vaughan, after her first resentment had died away, began to share Adrian's uneasiness. "It would have been better," she said, "if the child had returned to us and lived it down!" It dawned upon her at last, as it did upon all of them, that Hyacinth believed herself cut off from them forever. "It shows at least," said Lady Vaughan, "how keenly she felt the enormity of the wrong done." As the long months passed on and no news came of Hyacinth, the hot, proud anger died from Lady Vaughan, the fair old face grew wistful and sad; her grandchild's offence grew less in her eyes, and the great atonement made grew greater; and then other events happened: Lord Chandon died, and then Adrian was obliged to return to England. Sir Arthur absolutely refused to remain at Bergheim without him. "We must go home some time, my lady," he said; "why not now? After all, I think you exaggerate what you call the disgrace: let us go! People, I am sure, will not distress us by even mentioning the matter."